"I was surprised to see Schlumberger's bid," says a rival contractor. "Not only is it aggressive, it is a sign of desperation." Another bidder adds Schlumberger might not make money executing this contract.

"ONGC will pay the winning contractor a fixed rate for the 'fracking' job and the cost of chemicals," he explains. "ONGC will also pay a fixed monthly rental to the contractor which is 5% of the annualised contract value." But the equipment to execute the contract will alone cost around $15m not to mention manpower costs.

An ONGC source adds it has yet to award the contract to Schlumberger. "But it is good they bid low," he says.

ONGC certainly took a 'chill pill' with this tender - moving at a snail's pace after inviting bids back in January 2016. "Initially ONGC wanted us to frack 300 wells," says a bidder. "Later it was brought down to 210." ONGC wants to frack wells spread across its Ankleshwar, Mehsana, Cambay and Ahmedabad assets and wants to revive or enhance production from old wells and increase permeability in a few others. All the identified wells are 2500 to 3000 metres deep.

ONGC certainly took a 'chill pill' with this tender - moving at a snail's pace after inviting bids back in January 2016. "Initially ONGC wanted us to frack 300 wells," says a bidder. "Later it was brought down to 210." ONGC wants to frack wells spread across its Ankleshwar, Mehsana, Cambay and Ahmedabad assets and wants to revive or enhance production from old wells and increase permeability in a few others. All the identified wells are 2500 to 3000 metres deep.